White Dress
by hecalledmecarrots
Summary: "First, you can get married any time in your life, if you choose to do so. And two: if you choose a career, you can buy a white dress yourself, have it made to order, and wear it whenever you want."


**Those of you who know me know I've been writing some pretty heavy stuff recently and I needed a break from it, its not taken away from my time on that story (don't worry) just given my mind the chance to breath.**

 **I was surprised when I saw a whole other category in the TV section for Anne with An E. Like it was a whole different fandom, but I do sort of get why its there! I don't want to call it an Anne with an E fandom, its An 'Anne of Green Gables' story in the 'Anne with an e' universe, hence the cross over!**

 **love you all**

 **Carrots x**

* * *

Gilbert took a deep breath in, smelling the pines and firs which surrounded him, despite the season the ground was still covered with the reds and oranges of last years autumn leaves, a stroll in its history was poetic. A rare moment of calm was at his disposal, a late spring day, he now at eighteen took a tread through his childhood steps. He closed his eyes, pausing in his walk as he came to a small peak in the woods. The birds chirping above him, the different cadences creating its own music, a melody few understood, less listened to. His ears peaked at the sound, a part of him thought of the birds perched in the trees singing the tune of their hearts. His lips upturned to a small trademark Blythe lopsided smile before his eyes opened at a sound foreign to the birdsong.

He wondered at the sound, heading deeper into the woods, the walk a short one and as he came nearer to the contrasting sound he soon figured out it was another human voice.

He grinned slightly at the sight, she was the epitome of nature. To the milky creaminess of her skin to the autumn auburn of her hair. He smiled watching her for a moment through the vines of the bush he first encounter.

"To, you my betrothal I give to you my eternal love." She said in her own voice, his lips upturned as her voice deepened to imitate a mans voice "You have my eternal vow oh my darling!"

He peaked through the vines to indeed see the redhead in a white dress and unless the redhead was planning on marrying some time soon the dress would be out of fashion by the time she would choose to marry. The neck was a high neck with little puffed sleeves down her arms. Although the dress itself wasn't exactly to his taste (though what would be) the redhead inside of it was eternal endearing to him.

There was something in her that was unpredictable, off the cuff and completely innocent of both the world she had came from and the one she lived in, with time he had observed at least in public this innocence was refined, to make quite a unique individual. They had long ago made peace, they were now the steady friends he had always foreseen they become, but even now she still had the ability to surprise him.

He stepped back trying to make a quiet exit leaving her to her imaginary world, (heaven knows he only wished he retained his innocence a little longer) when his foot snapped a twig below him, his eyes went straight to the redhead who jumped on the spot turning to the sound, he cringed as he stood completely still for a moment.

"Who goes there?" she called out "Friend or Foe?"

He carefully stepped out from behind the bush his arms in the air beside him in surrender he looked her square in the eyes and with a twisted smile proclaimed "I do."

Anne sighed in relief as she saw her friend "Gil," she said holding her hand to her chest "you scared me half to death!"

He smirked walking over to her saying "Well that would be the shortest marriage on record."

She chuckled at his response "Its bad luck for the groom to..." she started which only put a sparkle in Gilbert's eye "I mean..." She stuttered.

"Well I would only be a groomsman at best." He told her lightly yet practically which made Anne's brow knit for a moment wondering what he could mean. "It does lead the question Anne, do you have a groom in mind?" he asked offering his hand to her to accompany her to a nearby tree stump.

She took the hand and they started to walk she revealed "reality and fantasy often don't match up." She admitted. "Fantasy, he's every girls dream, rich handsome melancholy, tall dark poetic mysterious and..."

"A complete bore?" he asked, sitting her down before taking the ground in front of the stump as his own.

"Way beyond your imagination I'm sure." She said tartly.

He seemed to ignore the comment and added "You said fantasy?" he questioned.

"Well look at me!" she exclaimed "no one of good breeding will want me, all bones and skin with red hair freckles, and I'm not pretty enough to ever be a bride." She said. He looked at her a little shocked that someone as lovely as her could ever have such a low opinion of themselves but her face read no pity only practicality. "If I ever were a bride, I would imagine he would be a foreign missionary, I've always doubted they would really care about looks."

He grinned as he told her "any man would be lucky to marry you Anne Shirley Cuthbert."

"Like you need to worry about that!" she exclaimed to him. "You have your choice of Avonlea sweethearts." To which he scoffed and looked up to her with a look of disbelief on his face. "Come on!" she exclaimed quickly "you know I'm right. Any of the girls would love to have Gilbert Blythe as their husband!" the last eight words taking on a higher tone to her voice. "Who will it be I wonder?" she said her legs crossing under her legs. "Josie?" she asked him.

"I would hope life would be less cruel to me then that." He smiled.

"Oh ho ho!" she exclaimed with a laugh "the critic!" she said "Very well then shall we move on, Maybe Jane Andrews?" she asked him. He shook his head "or Maybe Tillie is more your type?" Anne almost chuckled herself "Diana?" she quizzed him "well its definitely not me..." she dismissed yet the option wouldn't have been quite so absurd to her had she observed his reaction to what she was saying by this point. "or the belle of Avonlea?" she questioned when he looked at her quizzically she seemly informed him "Ruby of course!" she said "she has the biggest crush on you, you know?" she told Gilbert.

"No she doesn't!" Gilbert scoffed.

"Oh but she does! The first day we met the other girls warned me to stay away from you, they more or less said if I wanted them to be my friends I couldn't speak to you again."

He looked to her shocked the pieces falling into place at last "So that's where that came from?" he asked her "the other girls pressured you not to talk to me?" he asked her

"I just wanted to fit in!" she exclaimed.

"And I would have been your friend from day one Anne Shirley Cuthbert did you ever consider that?" he asked.

"Yes but then I wouldn't have my girly friends." She said quietly.

He scoffed again and said "so this a popularity contest?" he asked her, when he saw her face fall he closed his eyes for a moment realising the kind of mistake he might have just made "Forgive me Anne, that was rude, of course you wanted to make friends here in Avonlea, especially girly ones, there's no contest as to what was needed for an eleven year old girl, I'm being judgemental I'm sorry."

She shrugged "you're right though, I chose popularity over a true friend." She admitted "I always imagined if I ever had a true friend I would be brave enough to stand up for them for our friendship..." she trailed.  
"Hey peer pressure is hard, and at least you caved over something fixable. There are many a person who have caved at the wrong time and had to deal with the consequences an awful long time."

"You're kind." She said simply.

He shrugged again turned to look out away from Anne he decided to bring the subject matter back "Honestly, I never saw myself getting married." He admitted.

She looked at him surprised "You?" she questioned. "The son of Avonlea?" she asked.

"I know it sounds crazy, but my mom died in childbirth with me, as long as I can remember it was just me and my dad, you know." He told her "My dad, always told me such wonderful things about my mom, I suppose like anyone would in his position, but in my mind those traits were part of a imaginary person." He admitted "I had one picture of her, my mom so she had a face, an imaginary person with a face and a personality but still, just a shadow or a ghost of reality." He bit his bottom lip he could see her looking expectantly at him waiting for him to finish his thought "I guess, although I had the myth of a happy marriage I never had the example of one, when I saw myself in the future at least for a long time I never saw myself married." He swallowed before he continued "Even now, I am determined that only the deepest love will induce me into matrimony."

"That's Jane Austen!" She said.

"Always with the tone of surprise." He grinned.

They sat silently for a moment before Anne said "I understand."

He smiled softly and replied "I understand yours too." He said "Though I have to question why, if you never intend on marrying, do you have a white dress?" he asked her.

"Aunt Josephine said I could buy a white dress and wear it whenever I liked, a girl if she so chooses to marry can marry any time in her life, why should I have to wait to wear a white dress to feel like a bride to feel special?" she questioned.

He nodded satisfied with her answer. "Too true Miss Anne." He said with a grin he stood up wiping his behind of any leaves which had stuck to him he held out one hand "but there are two things you should know." He told her.

"Oh?" she asked taking his hand and standing beside him.

"You, are special and deserve to feel it every day." He told her.

She grinned at his worked blushing slightly before she asked him "and the second?" she asked.

"As much as I agree you should be able to wear a white dress whenever you like you should know one day, you will be a bride." He told her "and if it takes the tall dark melancholic stranger to make you realise how special you are, then I hope you get your wish."

She smiled at him, unsure of what to say, for some reason he often had that effect on her. "Th-Thank you." She said finally.

"Do you wish for a walking partner back to Green Gables?" he asked her.

"Yes please." She replied to which he smiled taking her arm in his they linked as they walked. "Gilbert?" she asked him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"It would be a shame, for you not to marry." She told him.

He swallowed and nodded.

"What I mean is, sometimes life throws in oddballs which change everything, and I wouldn't want you to have your mind so set on not marrying that you miss the potential opportunity... Any girl would be lucky to have you." She said.

He swallowed and remained silent, not wishing to break the spell, he had long ago realised that all that Bash had ever said to him about Anne, all those feelings were quiet real, that he had in fact fallen in love with the redhead, he couldn't tell you when but he knew she didn't reciprocate those feelings, but in this moment he felt a little bit of hope, if any girl would be lucky would that mean she would be, one day?


End file.
